A Trip to Bree
by The Ringleaders
Summary: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... oops. Wrong book, wrong century, wrong author. Ahem. This story begins with a game of chance...


Disclaimer: Don't look at us in that tone of voice! Of course we don't own it! What do you think we are? Lucky?  
  
This story was mainly written by Tali…. So…. Um… all hail Tali? (This, as always, is Gwen here!)  
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It all started with a game of chance—you throw a pair of dice, call out even or odd, and if you're right, you win.   
Then it moved to poker.   
And after that they went on to a daring game of truth or dare. From there it took a turn for the worse—they just started daring. Now that would be all well and good if they were just starting off having a bit of fun, but after half a day of nothing but ale, pipe weed, and risky games that got those poor hobbits hooked on betting and daring, this was not the wisest choice of entertainment.   
It ended with one final mother of a dare.   
Merry dared Pippin that couldn't eat a whole bar of soap in less than 30 seconds while prancing around in a circle with pipe weed in his hair...so of course, Pippin did.   
The next morning all the hobbits woke up on the floor of Bag End feeling as if they'd been hit by a large wagon. "Wow, that was some night we had, wasn't it," Merry said as he sat at the breakfast table while Frodo prepared food for all of them.   
"I didn't think anyone could drink so much ale!" Frodo tossed in Sam's direction light-heartedly.   
"Oh, lay off, at least I didn't eat soap or waste perfectly good pipe weed." Every hobbit's eyes turned towards Pippin, who was sitting with his head on the table, and was now moaning softly.   
"Pippin...Pippin, are you alright?" Merry started to shake Pippin lightly as he questioned. "I don't get it, he should be fine, after all it was just a gently-used bar of soap..."   
"'Gently-used?' That's not what you said yesterday!!" Pippin exclaimed as he sat up slowly.   
Merry's stare glanced to the other two hobbits hopefully, "Is it now, but I thought I told you..."   
"You dirty liar!!!" Pippin shoved Merry off of the bench and soon the two hobbits were rolling around kicking each other on the floor. Sam watched in horror for a moment before leaning down and separating them.   
"Don't you do anything that could break Frodo's things, and it's nice of him to be making you guys breakfast too, so don't push your luck." Merry and Pippin stood looking at the floor in shame for a moment. Then Pippin lightly punched Merry in the arm, and Merry the same back.   
The hobbits had just settled down for a nice, peaceful breakfast when a tremendous thundering pounding on the door sounded, startling all. They rushed over and opened the door quickly, greeted by Legolas, and three other Mirkwood elves.   
"Why hello there, Legolas, what a nice treat seeing you a—"   
"Please, come quickly hobbits, there was a horrible accident..." Legolas would've been panting if he wasn't an elf, but he is. The distress in his voice and the looks on the faces of the other elves had all four hobbits ready to go in no time at all, and they walked down the front path with the elves.   
They soon found themselves being hauled up onto horses' backs by the elves. The elves then proceeded to hop on with them, and gallop off quickly. Frodo muttered to Legolas, "Where are you taking us?"   
"To Bree."   
"Why us?"   
"Because you're the closest people we could find that we know."   
"What happened?"   
"I'll tell you when we arrive."   
They rode on to the walled city where the elves had been staying, and went right in and to the Prancing Pony. They went up a large staircase, and into a room where some other human friends of the elves had been staying.   
"What happened to them?" Frodo was completely puzzled by the bruised, bleeding humans sitting on the floor moaning.   
"It all happened so quickly," one of the other tall, blonde creatures replied. "They were listening to a merry band playing some old folk songs when it started. They had wonderful harp, and a jaunty couple of singers, and the flute was played quite nicely. Then they got involved in a little game of chance..."   
Another tall pointy-eared one said to them, "But the other people were cheating them, so they said something about it and..."   
"Boy were those other people rude, they turned around and hit hard, right in the face." The third strange elf was still bewildered by it all. "They got in a huge fist fight, and the other guys played really dirty...I suppose that goes without saying when they cheat though. They were hitting them with mugs and everything."   
"We just needed someone to be able to watch over them while they mend, we have other business here during the day we must attend to. Can you help us?" Legolas looked down at the hobbits pleadingly as the other three elves started double checking all of the wounds and bumps.   
"Of course we will, Legolas," Frodo replied.   
Promptly the next morning the hobbits were put to work tending the men, and after a week the elves were able to let the hobbits go back home.   
The first night when they got back home they all looked at each other as they sat smoking some Old Toby out on Frodo's front porch, and finally Pippin piped up saying, "So, what has this little mission...thing taught us? And what were those elves so busy doing?"   
Sam just looked at Pippin, "It's one of those things we may never fully understand. The important thing is that we learned about daring each other, and playing games of chance in places with lots of big people and ale...ever do either again after drinking any ale whatsoever."   
"Oh, okay." The four of them continued smoking their pipe weed late into the night before parting and going their separate ways.  
-30- 


End file.
